Fire extinguishers



March 17, 1959 Q'NElL ETAL 2,877,853

FIRE EXTINGUISHERS Filed July 2, 195 6 INVENTOILS JAMES E. .O'NE/L 7f 'M JOJEPH MUN H ATTOPA/EX United States Patent This invention relates to fire extinguishers.

Fire extinguishers are known which are filled with water and provided with a cartridge containing carbon dioxide gas and provided with a head having a prong which'can be made to penetrate a diaphragm on the cartridge to release the CO gas whenever it is necessary to use the extinguisher. The piercing of the diaphragm is usually accomplished by first turning the extinguisher upside down and then striking a resilient plunger on the head. The pressure of the released CO drives the water out through a hose. One trouble with such prior extinguishers has been that they can only be used for fires which are easily extinguished by plain water. These are of little use in certain class A fires, e. g. wood, rubbish, mattresses, excelsior, and densely packed paper and textiles, where the water runs ofi and thus does not penetrate the burning material; and in all class B fires or fires of flammable liquids where the use of plain water as a fire extinguishing medium is ineffective.

The addition of certain surface active agents, namely wetting, penetrating, emulsifying, foaming agents, would render extinguishers of this type more useful. and penetrating properties would help class A fires, whereas foaming and emulsifying properties would be desirable to extinguish class B fires. However, surface active agents have a corrosive effect on the outside shell Wetting of the fire extinguisher, such shell usually being made of brass, iron or steel, and if the surface active agents were placed into the tank mixed with water, they would wear away or corrode the tank, which, of course, would not be desirable.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a fire extinguisher having means for holding a wetting agent or other surface active agent, safely within the tank, but separate from the water until the extinguisher is to be used. Thus the surface active agent does not contact the tank until it is mixed with the water and CO gas and immediately used.

Another object of this invention is to provide a fire extinguisher comprising a tank, a cartridge of'CO gas suspended therein and provided with a diaphragm, a head screwed to the tank and provided with a prong which may be pressed to penetrate the diaphragm of the CO gas cartridge, and a U-shaped tube of glass, ceramic or plastic material, natural or synthetic, strapped to the lower end of the CO gas cartridge; the upper ends of the U-shaped tube being open and said tube containing either a wetting, penetrating, emulsifying, foaming agent, or mixtures thereof. The upper open ends of the U-shaped tube are above the water level line, so that when it is desired to use the fire extinguisher, the tank may be turned upside down to permit the water and the liquid within the U-shaped tube to mix; and whereby causing the prong to penetrate the diaphragm. The CO; gas will escape and cause the mixture of water and the wetting agents, or the like, to escape through the hose for extinguishing the fire.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a strong, rugged and durable device of the character deice scribed, which shall be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, safe in use, easy to manipulate, and practical and eflicient to a high degree.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope of invention will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is shown various illustrative embodiments of this invention,

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a fire extinguisher embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, designates a fire extinguisher embodying the invention. The same comprises a tank 11 which may be made of brass. The tank 11 comprises a body member 12 and a bottom member 13. The body member 12 has a cylindrical wall 14 formed at its upper end with an annular rounded shoulder 15. Extending up from the shoulder 15 is the neck 16. The neck 16 has external screw threads 17. It is formed at its inner side with a plurality of spaced, in wardly extending shoulder lug portions 18, terminating below the upper end of the neck. The bottom member 13 has a central bellied wall 20 from which extends down wardly an annular skirted wall 21 contacting the inner surface of the lower end of the cylindrical wall 14. The lower end of the cylindrical wall 14 is rolled around the. lower edge of the skirted flange 21 as at 22 for sealing the bottom of the tank. The tank 11 is formed at the shoulder 15 thereof with an outlet nipple 25 to which is connected a usual hose 26 hanging down from the nipple and provided with a nozzle 27.

Supported by the shoulder or lug portions 18 is a carbon dioxide carrying member 30. Member 30 comprises a metallic sealed cartridge 31 closed at its upper end by diaphragm 33. Extending outwardly from the upper end of the cartridge 31 and below the diaphragm 33 formed with an upwardly extending annular flange 35 at its outer periphery. The web 34 rests on the stop lugs 18. The cartridge 31 is centrally disposed with respect to the web 34. Said web, furthermore, is formed with a plurality of through openings 36.

Mounted on the upper end of the tank is a head 40. The head comprises a member 41 having an annular internally screw threaded flange 42 screwed to the external threads 17 of the neck 16. Extending from the flange 42 are upwardly and outwardly curved spokes 43 connected at their upper ends by an annular ring 44. At the upper end of the flange 17 is a web or wall 45 from which there extends upwardly a central sleeve 46 having internal screw threads 47. The sleeve 46 is formed with a central shoulder 48 and with a cylindrical portion 49 extending above the shoulder 48. Screwed within the internally threaded portion 47 is a screw threaded disc 50 formed with a central through opening 51.

Slidable in the reduced cylindrical portion 49 is a stem of a plunger 61. The plunger 61 comprises a head 62 at the lower end of the stem 60. The head 62 is located between the disc 50 and the shoulder 48. Imbedded within the plunger is a prong 65 having a pointed portion- 66 at its lower end disposed above the central portion of the diaphragm 33. The diaphragm 33 may be pierced by striking the stem 60, causing the prongs 65 to move and causing point 66 thereof to penetrate said diaphragm.

The resilient head 62 acts like a spring to retract the stem when the plunger is released. The cartridge 31 contains gas under pressure, preferably CO Within the tank is water designated by the letter W. The first extinguisher described to this point is well known.

The water and CO gas do not mix until it is desired to use the fire extinguisher. To use the fire extinguisher it is turned upside down and the plunger 60 is struck so as to penetrate the diaphragm 33 and cause the CO gas to mix with water, and the combination of water and CO gas comes out through the hose 26 and the stream of liquid is applied on the fire.

It has been found that water alone will not always extinguish certain class A fires such as excelsior fires or mattress fires, because the water does not penetrate or wet the material. In addition, the use of water alone as an extinguishing agent would be ineffective for practically all flammable liquid fires known as class B fires, since water and burning liquids are not compatible. To overcome this objection, there is provided a U-shaped tube 70 made of glass, ceramic material, rubber, a synthetic resin or plastic, like polyethylene, ethyl cellulose, cellulose acetate, tetrafiuoro-ethylene, or other material which will not react with wetting agents or surface active agents of the type to be used. The tube 70 comprises a bottom curved portion 71 which contacts and embraces the lower end of the cartridge 31. Extending from the curved portion 71 are vertical reaches 72 contacting diametrically opposite sides of the cartridge 31. The U-shaped tube 70 may be attached to the cartridge 31 by means of a pair of spaced straps 75. The straps 75 may have portions 76 contacting or gripping the portions of the cartridge 31, and portions 77 contacting and gripping portions of the U-shaped tube 70. A frictional grip may prove sulficient to hold the U-shaped tube 70 in place. It will be noted that the upper free ends of the tube 70 extend above the water line of the water W within the tank.

Within the tube 70 may be placed any surface active agent, such as a wetting agent, penetrating agent, emulsifying agent, or foaming agent, or combination thereof. The surface active agent in tube 70 may be diluted with water or another inert liquid, to give it the desired fluidity and concentration of active material.

For this purpose actionic, anionic, nonionic, or a mixture of anionic and noniouic, or a mixture of cationic and nonionic surface active agents maybe used. The anionics may comprise high molecular sulphates or sulphonates such sodium lauryl sulphate or dodecyl benzene sulphonate. The nonionics may comprise ethylene oxide reaction products of high molecular alcohols, or alkylphenols. The cationics may comprise high molecular amine salts. By using proper combinations of these materials, it is possible to obtain simultaneously wetting, penetrating, foaming and emulsifying effect with one product.

The straps 75 may be made of aluminum. The cartridge 31 may be made of steel, coated with corrosion resistant materials.

It will now be understood that the materials within the tube 70will not mix with the water until it is ready to use the fire extinguisher. At that time, the fire extinguisher is turned upside down. The liquid pours from tube 70 so as to mix with the water. The plunger 60 may then be struck to release the CO gas, and the mixture of water and surface active agents will then be expelled through the hose 26.

The shell or tank 11 is made of brass, iron, steel, or similar materials. If the wetting agent were placed in solution in the extinguisher casing, it might corrode the casing and then when the CO unit is pierced so that gas is released, the pressure on the case could possible blow out the casing or cause the casing to rupture, and such possibilities are obviated by the provision of the means for keeping the surface active agent separate until the extinguisher is to be used.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which the several objects of this invention are achieved and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. It should also be mentioned that, whereas CO is the preferred gas for the cartridge 31, other compressed gases, like compressed air or nitrogen could be used.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A fire extinguisher comprising a shell forming a chamber containing water, a cartridge suspended within the shell and containing a gas under pressure, means on the shell to penetrate the cartridge to release the gas to said chamber, and a receptacle attached to said cartridge containing a surface active agent, said receptacle being open at its upper end only so that when the shell is inverted, the surface active agent will spill out of the receptacle and directly into the chamber and mix with the water, the open end of said receptacle communicating with said chamber, and being located above the lower end of the cartridge and below its upper end, and closer to its upper end than to its lower end.

2. The combination of claim 1, and said receptacle being made of a material which will not react with the surface active agent.

3. A fire extinguisher comprising a shell containing water, a cartridge within the shell containing a substance which would expel the water from the shell, and a container mounted on said cartridge and containing a material which would have a corrosive eifect on the shell, but which would not react with the container, said container being open at its upper end only and communicating with the interior of said shell so that when the shell is inverted, the material within the container will drop out of the container and mix with the water, the open upper end of said container being located below the upper end of the cartridge and above its lower end.

4. A fire extinguisher as described in claim 1, in which the gas under pressure is carbon dioxide.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

